Ch. 2 Medical Terms and Body Systems Overview

Aug 26, 2024

Chapter 2 Overview

Structure of the Chapter

  • Introduction to medical terms and body systems.
  • Chapter layout will be consistent throughout the book.
  • Focus on body structures, colors associated with medical conditions, and oncology (cancer studies).

Anatomy Basics

  • Importance of understanding anatomy for applying medical terms.
  • Levels of organization:
    • Cell: Basic unit of life.
    • Tissue: System of cells with a common function.
    • Organ: Collection of tissues performing a task.
    • System: Group of organs working together (e.g., cardiovascular system).

Types of Tissues

  1. Muscle Tissue: Provides movement.
  2. Nervous Tissue: Coordinates movement.
  3. Connective Tissue: Provides structural support.
  4. Epithelial Tissue: Forms skin and lines cavities/organs.

Body Systems

  • Eleven body systems are covered:
    1. Integumentary (skin, hair, nails)
    2. Respiratory (oxygen exchange)
    3. Urinary (waste removal)
    4. Reproductive (male and female reproductive systems)
    5. Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels)
    6. Immune (fighting diseases)
    7. Lymphatic (infection drainage)
    8. Digestive (food breakdown)
    9. Musculoskeletal (muscles and bones)
    10. Nervous (nerve functions)
    11. Endocrine (hormonal regulation)

Body Cavities

  • Cranial Cavity: Brain.
  • Spinal Cavity: Spinal cord.
  • Thoracic Cavity: Heart and lungs, above the diaphragm.
  • Abdominal Cavity: Stomach, intestines, kidneys, pancreas.
  • Pelvic Cavity: Bladder, reproductive organs.
  • Abdominopelvic Cavity: Combined abdomen and pelvis.

Body Structure Terms

  • Combining forms: Word root + slash + 'o' (e.g., aden/o for gland).
  • Key terms:
    • Adeno: Gland
    • Cyto: Cell
    • Epitheli: Epithelium
    • Fibro: Fiber
    • Histo: Tissue
    • Kary/o: Nucleus
    • Lipo: Fat
    • Myo: Muscle
    • Neuro: Nerve
    • Organo: Organ
    • Sarco: Connective tissue
    • Viscero: Internal organs

Color Terms

  • Chloro: Green
  • Chrom/o: Color
  • Cyano: Blue
  • Erythro: Red
  • Leuko: White
  • Melano: Black
  • Xantho: Yellow

Prefixes and Suffixes

  • Prefixes: Dia-, Dys-, Hyper-, Hypo-, Meta-, Neo-, Pro-
  • Suffixes:
    • -al, -ic, -ous: Pertaining to
    • -cyte: Cell
    • -gen, -genic: Producing/causing
    • -megaly: Enlargement
    • -oid: Resembling
    • -oma: Tumor
    • -osis: Abnormal condition
    • -pathy: Disease
    • -plasia: Growth/formation
    • -plasm: Substance/growth
    • -sarcoma: Malignant tumor
    • -sis, -stasis: State of/control

Medical Terms Construction

  • Diseases & Disorders: Built from known parts (e.g., adenocarcinoma = cancerous tumor of a gland).
  • Body Structure Terms: Related to organization and specific functionalities (e.g., cytogenic = producing cells).

Complementary Terms

  • Signs vs. Symptoms:
    • Sign: Objective, observed by doctor.
    • Symptom: Subjective, reported by patient.
  • Key Terms:
    • Cancerous, Diagnosis, Prognosis
    • Metastasis: Cancer spread to another location.

Non-Word Parts Terms

  • Terms not built from word parts need memorization:
    • Afebrile: Without fever
    • Apoptosis: Programmed cell death
    • Benign: Non-malignant
    • Chemotherapy: Drug treatment for cancer
    • Metastasis: Cancer spread
    • Radiation Therapy (XRT): Use of x-rays to treat cancer

Abbreviations

  • Important to understand in medical contexts for clarity and accuracy.

Practice

  • Exercises are recommended to solidify understanding of terms and their uses.